We have two important updates for those considering applying to our undergraduate major next year. First, unfortunately, LPPL 3100: Foundations of Behavioral Science will NOT be offered this fall as previously advertised. Our hope is it will be offered this spring. As a reminder, all prerequisite courses must be completed prior to your first semester at Batten, but if you were planning on finishing your prerequisite requirements this fall, please plan to enroll in PSYC 2600.

Additionally, we look forward to sharing more about new courses and co-curricular opportunities with our new BA curriculum, and its renewed emphasis on leadership and engagement within the policy realm. We will have a few upcoming blog posts that will detail these changes, but in the meantime, please take note that beginning in Fall 2021, LPPP 3200: Introduction to Public Policy has been added as an additional pre-requisite for all students interested in the Batten major.  Please plan to complete this course, along with ECON 2010 and PSYC 2600/LPPL 3100, prior to the semester that you would begin at Batten. Students interested in the minor do NOT need to take LPPP 3200 prior to applying to Batten. As of May 21, LPPP 3200 has currently reached capacity. If you have not yet enrolled in this course, we strongly encourage you to put yourself on the waitlist. There is flux throughout the summer and there is a strong likelihood we can take some students from the course waitlist. Additionally, we also hope to offer this course this spring for students to complete while applying to the major. If you cannot complete the course before the fall semester of your third year, your application will not be penalized and we will absolutely work with you to finish the requirement while you start at Batten. 

LPPP 3200 will introduce students to both the process of public policy and the tools of policy analysis. The first part examines the actors, institutions, and procedures involved in the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of public policy. The second part introduces students to the basic concepts and tools of policy analysis including problem definition, specification of alternatives, and solution analysis. Curious to know more about the course from the perspective of a student? Check out this account from rising fourth-year student, Kate:

“Intro to Public Policy was the first class I ever took in the Batten School. At this point, I had a vague idea of what it meant to major in public policy, and I planned to apply to the program, but that was all. A few weeks into this class, I knew I absolutely had to study public policy. Professor Johannessen was approachable, comprehensive, and always made sure we understood the real-world applicability of the content we were studying- something I would later learn is a hallmark of Batten. I will always remember sitting down to write my first-ever memo for this class. I was writing about antibiotic resistance, which I knew absolutely nothing about. What's more, the memo format was completely new to me, and I was worried that if I could not write a strong memo, then I would not be a good Batten student. However, I had nothing to worry about. Recognizing that Intro to Public Policy is a class for majors and non-majors alike, Professor Johannessen and my TA, Lucy Smith, walked us all through exactly how to write a memo section-by-section, providing two revision opportunities. I never felt like I was just being thrown into the world of policy with no guidance. This memo became my first true deep-dive into a policy area I knew nothing about, and the first time I crafted real alternative solutions to a problem. This was incredibly rewarding, and I still look back on that first memo (of very many to come) fondly. Professor Johannessen taught me the fundamentals of policy, but more importantly, his rigorous yet reasonable and highly practical curriculum showed me just how much I wanted to be a Batten student. This class is a must for anyone considering applying to the Batten School, or anyone who just wants to learn more about policy formation and implementation!”

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email our office or make an appointment with Anne or Courtney!